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Horticulture and Soil Science Wiki:Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience Why H&SS is Concerned with Pseudoscience The statement that something is "backed by science" tends to carry great weight because it implies a tested, evidence-based validity to the idea. Such assertions are often made in marketing a product, idea, or even a belief system, even if it hasn't actually been exposed to the rigors of science. H&SS is concerned about pseudoscience because it has the potential to make H&SS less reliable if not presented properly. H&SS does sometimes allow pseudoscience to be presented as a social phenomenon, if it is related to plant and soil science. However, H&SS editors must be careful to clearly separate science from pseudoscience in articles and to explain the criteria for distinction. There is broad community support to not misrepresent science by painting pseudoscience as science. How to Handle Pseudoscience When pseudoscience may be presented, it must be presented properly. Pseudoscience should always be accompanied by the corresponding scientific view, and should not obfuscate descriptions of relevant scientific evidence or the lack of scientific evidence. All the applicable opinions about pseudoscience should be described in proportion to their prominence, which in science and medicine related discussions is weighted to the majority view among experts in the field of scientific study. In the interest of describing topics fully, articles written about notable pseudoscientific concepts may require a fair amount of detail in the article about the topic, but care should be taken to clearly attribute the views of proponents without implying that such views are actually statements of fact. In contrast, less descriptive detail (or none at all) should be included in articles that are not strictly about a pseudoscience if the putatively relevant pseudoscience in question is of little or no notability. Not all views on pseudoscientific topics may be science-related (eg. astrology may have epistemological, historical, or cultural views to cover as well), but we shouldn't misrepresent science when mentioning pseudoscience. Identifying Pseudoscience Examples of Pseudoscience Pseudoscience includes but is not limited to: *Various Conspiracy Theories (i.e. moon landing conspiracy theory, Illuminati) *'Ancient Astronaut Theory' *'Lunar Effect' *'Lysenkoism or Lycanthropy' *'Psychics, Mediums and Channeling' *'Ghosts and Ghost hunting' *'Crop Circles' *'Atlantis' *'Dowsing' *'Cryptobotany' *'Cryptozoology' *'ESP or Extra Sensory Perception' *'Hypnosis' *'Phrenology' *'New Age' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Memetics' *'Graphology' *'Psychoanalysis' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Herbalism' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Alternative Medicine' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Biorhythms' *'Brain Gym' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Colon Cleansing' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Faith Healing' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Urine Therapy' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Traditional Chinese Medicine' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Biblical and Qur'anic foreknowledge' *'Scientology' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Feng Shui' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Perpetual motion and Free energy' *'AIDS Denialism' *'Astrology' and all its aspects, practices and beliefs *'Ufology' *'Flat Earth Theory'